Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) messengers re-elected Johnny Hunt as president, adopted a $204,385,592.63 budget and voted to discontinue the convention relationship with a Texas church during the June 23–24 annual meeting in Louisville, Ky.
Other SBC officers elected were; John Mark Toby, pastor of Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Somerset, Ky., first vice president; and Stephen Rummage, pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Fla., second vice president. Re-elected were: John Yeats, communications director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, recording secretary; and Jim Wells, director of missions for the Tri County Baptist Association in Nixa, Mo., registration secretary.
The 2009–10 Cooperative Program (CP) allocation budget was adopted without discussion. It directs $148.77 million to ministries through the convention’s two missions entities, $44.8 million to theological education through six seminaries and $3.37 million to concerns about ethics and religious liberty.
The SBC operating budget for 2009–10 anticipates $9.14 million in income, with $6.95 million through the CP. A total of $3.14 million is budgeted for SBC administration expenses and $6 million is allocated toward operating expenses for the Executive Committee.
Messengers also approved a recommendation to cease the cooperative relationship between the SBC and Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, over the congregation’s perceived affirmation of homosexuality, which contradicts Article III of the SBC constitution.
The recommendation did not specifically mention homosexuality, but that issue has been the backdrop of controversy at the church since late 2007, when a dispute arose regarding whether to include pictures of homosexual couples in the church’s membership directory.
That relationship is ended and messengers from the church will not be seated at SBC annual meetings “until such time as the church unambiguously demonstrates its friendly cooperation” in that matter, the recommendation said.
Messengers also voted to make bylaw changes dealing with the amount of time a messenger can speak during the business sessions of the SBC and qualifications for nominees to the Committee on Committee and Committee on Nominations.
Of the 8,790 registered messengers attending the annual meeting, 526 were from Alabama.
Next year’s meeting will be held in Orlando June 15–16. (BP, Editor’s Network)
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